Season of high colour
born of the golden sun
afloat on azure seas,
veiled times by white tulle shreds
lest heat become too great.
All summer long we praise
the season that can tease
tints in bright abundance
from boring dark brown earth:
red roses waving, flags
of glorious blue, the
yellow honeysuckle -
and out to play, insects
in party dress, while birds
scrawl patterns in the sky.
How have we taken you
for granted? Not this year!
This year you've shown your sull-
en face: incessant rain
has beaten down the flags
and decimated bees.
Cold winds have bade blooms
stay 'neath the parapets.
My favourite birds
all caught the early flight.
Written to the prompt "Summer" by ManicDDaily in Poetics at
dVerse Poets
You captured a perfect summer and contrasted it well with this year's effort - though it is bright and sunny at present, too late for blackbird and thrush young.
ReplyDeletesummer indeed did hide a bit over here as well..but now it's there with sun and scorching heat..loved the insects in party dresses...now let's have a summer party together with them..even though some of the birds did already catch the early flight..
ReplyDeleteAh the summer of poster dreams that stayed on the walls so we can enjoy the hues of grey of winter rain
ReplyDeleteI love the image of insects in party dress.
ReplyDeleteNice description of a strange summerless summer, same in Spain.
:)
I am not a fan of summer, and welcome rain, but you did make me feel for you.
ReplyDeletesmiles...nice imagery man...love the honeysuckle and how it scents the air...i hope i have not taken the season for granted...the rain though we missed...and no early flight yet, still smoking hot...though it is raining gently this morning which is a beautiful relief...
ReplyDeleteAnother day, another superb poem by Dave.
ReplyDeleteAh - I love the idea of the birds on the early flight- very clever, and you are so right about the taking of a benign summer for granted - here people are being burned for that in a terribly profound way.
ReplyDeleteThis has such a beautiful lyrical side though - in addition to the wit - the white tulled shreds veiling against the heat - the honeysuckle (wonderful against the decimated bees), the patterns scrawled by the birds.
Lovely.
One technical question - did you link it to dVerse? I didn't see the link on Mr. Linky, but just came by to visit the blog. Maybe you want to link it to get more visits? K.
Ah summer... most bewitching and fickle of seasons.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I have heard you have had an unsummerlike summer there this year. Hopefully you will have a beautifully warm and sunny fall!
ReplyDeleteDave - I commented - did it not come through? - Let me know if not by coming back to my blog or commenting on dVerse!
ReplyDeleteSo much to really like in this poem - not least the sense of humor, but also the lyrical quality and particularity of your sensitivity- tulle! k.
Welcome back dear David. Your poem reflects the English weather I experienced myself in early August, but I prefer that to the Italian tropical heat we are having now.
ReplyDeleteSomething I can't yet fully believe happened to me. It seems I'll have a collection published in the future, made of 29 poems basically elegies...I'll write about it in the blog when things are more definite.
I hope you have had a relaxing time.
Ugh--we've been enduring the exact opposite of this, with everything ceasing to bloom and thrive because of incessant heat and drought--the whole planet is just out of whack. Thanks for making me grateful for sunshine--up to a point. ;_)
ReplyDeleteDave, the way you speak to the season is so effective and the contrast you create between what should be/usually is and the way it happened for you this year works well. Nice descriptive details.
ReplyDelete"the season that can tease
ReplyDeletebright tints in abundance..."
Yes, it is. All the more appreciated when the rain stops, as you say.
That last line is fabulous! Thank you.
Wonderful poem, Dave! Loved the word choices :)
ReplyDeletelovely post Mr Dave.
ReplyDeleteSuch delightful images, with the party-dress butterflies and the 'Hell's Angels' [=Swifts] cutting patterns in the sky.
ReplyDeleteUplifting and pretty harvest/summer read.
Apologies are in order in that I thought I had temporarily switched off the moderation while I was away. Obviously, I hadn't, and there they all were, your comments, waiting for me when I returned. I have now read them all and will respond to as many as I can manage. Thanks, and once again, my apologies.
ReplyDeleteA classic write,Dave! The contrast you depicted was great, what was and what should be!
ReplyDeleteHank